Lost
by theunhappytwins
Summary: In which Akita Neru's life is turned upside down by a mysterious girl and the people looking for her. Neru/Miku/Rin, Haku/Mayu, and KaiMei. Rating may change to M later on.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: So, I finally wrote a fic where all my OTPs sail free! And they all die! Well, probably not. But they're all sad, and that's enough for me.**

The sky was grey, and Neru thought it was probably going to rain.

It was a horrible day to go outside. But then again, she thought it was a horrible day a lot of times. She wished she'd brought an umbrella.

Yes-drops were starting to fall. She walked down the street, drops hitting her head and dampening her ponytail. Ugh-she'd just bought a ribbon. She sighed irritably-ribbons for her hair were one of her few luxuries. That and cell phone apps. It was hard, living on your own. Even so...it was better than the alternative. She sighed, and walked down the street, rain beating down on her as she increased her pace. She didn't even glance at the buildings as she went by, just focusing on trying to get home as quickly as she possibly could until she tripped over something.

Neru stumbled and fell, ponytail flying out and hitting the pavement in streaks of gold. She raised her head and turned, her damp hair hanging in front of her eyes. "What the hell-"

It was a leg. She had tripped and fallen over someone's leg. Heart fluttering in her chest, she rose and turned towards the leg-_please don't let it be a dead body, please don't let it be a dead body._

It was a girl. Neru didn't know whether she was alive or not. The girl's skin was a dead white, her delicate face completely still. Her eyes were closed, her eyelashes making delicate shadows on her cheeks. Her long hair was teal, a deep, rich color, and went down to her feet. She wore a white hospital gown. Neru tentatively reached out a hand to check for a pulse and the girl's eyes opened.

They were the same color as her hair. Neru would have thought the girl was beautiful, if she hadn't been _lying in the goddamn street looking dead in a rainstorm. _Neru flinched back as the girl's pale hand closed on Neru's wrist, grasping so hard it began to hurt. She didn't look like she should have that kind of strength.

"Are you bad?" Her eyes were blank. Her face was blank. That was all she said.

"Uh...I'm not bad." Neru whispered.

"Good." Her grasp loosened.

"Do you have..." Neru looked at her blank eyes, and her loose hospital gown on her thin frame. Those eyes looked _dead. _If she looked carefully at the girl's hands, she could see scars... She was hurt. And, if the people who hurt her were who Neru thought they were...

"Come on." It might be stupid, but...if Neru was right, she might-no, she _would-_need to take care of her. "My name's Neru. Follow me." The girl got up quickly, her long hair falling behind her. It dripped as she walked behind Neru. Neru had no idea how the hell her head was even able to support all that weight. Even so, she kept a steady pace behind Neru. Finally, Neru came to a stop outside her apartment building. "That's where I live." She didn't know why she said it-this girl was not a child, she could interpret things like a normal teenager. She _was_ probably a teenager. "Do you want to stay with me?" God, this felt creepy. But...someone had hurt her, and she had run away. Even if it was just for a few nights, Neru had to take care of the girl. She couldn't let her just be out on the streets.

The girl nodded.

"Uh. That was easy, then. What's your name?"

"Miku." That was all the girl said.

Neru was starting to distrust this girl, or at least get worried about her. For all she knew, Neru could be a sexual predator or something. But she wasn't, and if this girl was really that innocent...things could be even worse. Neru had to protect her. As they walked in, she quickly got into the elevator. Miku stood outside.

Neru turned to her. "What are you waiting for?" She jabbed the 'open door' button. "Get in." Miku stared at her for a moment, and then walked in, her thick hair still dripping on the floor. She didn't speak, just stared at Neru as she pressed the buttons. The blonde turned, glaring at Miku for a second. "What are you staring at?"

"You look nice."

Neru felt heat flood to her face, and she tried to look away. "Ah. Th-Th-That's..." What the hell, how was she supposed to react to something like that? She didn't _do _compliments. This was...

"You do." Miku's face was blank as always, but Neru felt like she was smiling. This didn't help with her blush at all. "I'm glad you're not bad."

"What do you mean, you're glad I'm not bad?"

"I don't remember."

Neru turned towards her, eyebrows drawing together and wrinkling her forehead. "You...don't remember."

"I remember is that I am Miku and things are good or bad. There are some other things, too, but what's most important is that I have to get rid of the bad things."

The blood drained from Neru's face, and she looked at the wall for a while, trying not to say anything. Before, she'd just thought that Miku was a normal, if strange girl. But 'get rid of the bad things' had a very foreboding feeling to it.

What was going on? What was wrong with this girl?

The elevator dinged and stopped. Neru walked out. She looked back in. "We're there." Miku followed her, her bare feet tapping on the floor as Neru walked towards her own room and took out her keys. "Right, so, my roommate lives here too. Her name is Haku. She's probably home now. Just warning you there."

Miku nodded, her face still blank.

Neru opened the door, and walked in, Miku following her.

It looked like Haku _wasn't _actually there. Good-Haku was actually working to get them money, and that was a thing that Neru was still excited about.

First, though, she had to work to keep Miku from ruining their apartment by getting water all over it. What the hell was wrong with that girl's hair? It wasn't even like hair-more like a giant teal sponge. With an exasperated sigh, she turned behind her, to where Miku was standing there, staring at the floor and dripping on it.

"That floor doesn't look like a floor." Miku said, eyes focused on the linoleum.

"Yeah, it's pretty cheap-"

"Floors should be white. This floor isn't white. I don't like it."

Neru backed away slowly. "Well, white floors look kind of stupid, if you ask me. Plus, it would just get dirty, and we wouldn't have time to fix that."

Miku's head snapped up, staring at Neru from under the curtains of her long hair. "I remember white floors. But this floor isn't white. And that's okay."

Neru rolled her eyes. "Well, that's good, but you need to go into the bathroom. You're getting everything wet." The blonde pointed towards the bathroom. Miku walked towards there, and Neru followed. Miku hadn't shown much knowledge of how the world worked, there was no reason she would know how to dry her hair. When she got in, the teal-haired girl was staring intently at the sink.

"What's that?" she asked.

"It's a sink." Neru rolled her eyes. Just how sheltered was this girl? It was a goddamn sink. Who didn't have one of those?

"Oh. Yes. I see. I've seen those before, but they were bigger. What's that?" She pointed at the window.

"That's...a window."

"I don't think I ever saw one of those." Miku walked over to it, pressing her face against the pane. "Why would you have one?" Her voice was muffled.

"...To let in natural light. It doesn't seem like a good idea now, but it works when it's sunny." Neru couldn't believe it. Here she was, explaining to a goddamn..."How old are you, anyway?"

Miku stared at her for a moment. "I can't remember how old I am."

Neru took a glance at her. "I'd _guess_ you were maybe fifteen. A year younger than me. Yeah, I know, I act like an old lady. Anyway, we need to dry your hair."

"Do we?" Miku frowned, looking at her hair.

Neru sighed again. Miku may have needed help, but..."You're getting the floor all wet."

Miku glanced down at the puddle forming around her. "I am. What do we-"

Neru rummaged around. Money was tight, but Haku and Neru both had hair long enough that they had to buy a blow dryer. Even so, neither of their hair was the same..._volume _as Miku's. No one's was.

Miku walked away from the window and sat down on the floor, her hair falling around her. As Neru drew closer, she flinched away.

"What?" Neru frowned. "It's just a..."

"I don't know why that happened..." Miku sighed. "How does this work?"

*line break*

It was thirty minutes before two things happened.

Neru had finished drying Miku's hair(how much hair did that girl even have? It was endless)and the door opened.

Neru turned to Miku, who was absorbed in playing with her newly-fluffy hair. "Haku is my friend. She won't hurt you."

Miku stared at her for a moment, and then nodded.

Haku walked in, her arms filled with bags of groceries. "Hello, Neru-" She screamed, dropping the bags on her feet.

"Shit!" Neru flung out her arms, trying to grab one bag from the air, but it fell too fast.

Haku pointed a shaking finger. "Wh-Who is that?!"

Miku raised her eyes, looking to Haku. "Miku."

"Is..."

"I found her." Neru said that, and only that.

Haku nodded. "We'll...talk about this later?"

"Yes. We will."

* * *

"Little sister? Little sister!" The young man ran into the room, blue eyes wide. "Little sister!"

"I am sorry, Kaito." The man sighed. "She's gone. She disappeared."

A giggle came from the woman next to Kaito, who had followed him in. "Little sister shouldn't do that. She'll get hurt."

"Meiko, believe me. I know she will."

"Ah...Master. Are you going to send us?" The woman who had been in the room already looked up from her computer.

"The one who needs their services has already been contacted, Luka."

Luka frowned. "Are you sure? I doubt that..."

"Yes." Meiko smiled. "I love her just as much as we all do, but I don't think she would /punish/ our dear little sister enough. I could do it..." The woman's red eyes lit up at the thought.

"I must agree. She could be in so much danger!" Kaito looked horrified. "And she would-"

"All three of you. Stop."

The three paused, faces masks of horror. Meiko grabbed Kaito's arm, standing in front of him. Luka clasped her hand over her mouth, stepping back from her computer.

"If I say something, it is law. And I said this."

All three bowed. "Yes, sir!"

"That girl will do perfectly fine."

"Yes, sir!"

He smiled. "We will retrieve the lost unit. My beloved Miku...I will find her."

* * *

Neru took a deep breath, nails digging into her palms. "Haku...you understand. She has nowhere else to go."

Haku twisted her long silver hair around her fingers, pulling tight. "I...I see. I just...it will be difficult..."

Neru rolled her eyes, snorting. "You work as a _waitress._ How the hell do you even work if it's so hard for you to talk to people?"

"I...I just..." Haku turned red, the blush showing up luminescent on her pale skin. "I...don't want another person in here. It's difficult for even just the two of us to stay here..."

"She doesn't have anywhere else to go." Neru sighed. "I know that you'll have trouble, but...we're going to need to take her in. She has nowhere else to go." The remaining words Neru left unspoken-Haku would understand them anyway.

Haku sighed, red eyes downcast, and shuffled her feet. "I'm still not sure we'll be able to, but...we can try."

Neru nodded. "I know."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Guess who remembered this existed?**

Luka sighed, hands flying over the keyboard. If only she had been allowed to actually access the files of her sister's escape...But, she couldn't, of course. They thought it would encourage her to escape. How disgusting. She couldn't even see how it happened...

But surely, if she would, it couldn't be too dangerous. She'd need to talk about it to Master before she even tried, but she had to see it. They couldn't have her update the security systems without seeing exactly why they had been violated.

She stood up to get her object, and was instantly blocked by Meiko, who was smiling slightly uncannily.

Luka always pitied her. She couldn't connect this Meiko with the Meiko she had known before the Project. Then, she had been sour, angry. It had been annoying to deal with someone like that...but she still felt nostalgic for that. Luka had changed too, of course. That was just how things were...

"_Weeeell_, Luka-chan? What are you doing?" Meiko asked, leaning into her face.

Luka kept her face straight. "I'm going to ask Master about something. I need to see the footage of the escape."

"Hmmm? Luka-chan, I didn't think you would say something like that." Meiko giggled. "I thought you were the type who wouldn't ask. I'd better go with you...just in case."

Luka stifled a shudder. "Thank you, Meiko." She opened the door, and walked outside into the hallway, keeping her head held high. People gave them strange glances, but most of them seemed distressed when Meiko winked and waved at them. Luka ignored everyone, finally knocking at the door. It opened, and Luka walked in. Master glared at her.

"Luka? What is it that you want?"

The pink-haired woman took a deep breath, fiddling with the sleeves of her white coat. "I just need to make a request. I was wondering...I would like to watch the escape footage from when CV01 escaped. I know that it may seem like a ridiculous question, but I believe that I need to watch it-"

"Are you joking?" He stood up, and Luka stood still, trying to go elsewhere. He smacked her across her face, knocking her body backwards. "And I am _not _supposed to believe from that that you want to escape just like CV01? CV03, you are being impudent."

"I apologize." Luka bowed. "I had not intended-"

"00, you will have to discipline her." Meiko giggled at the first words directed to her.

"Of course, Master."

Luka simply tried to focus away from her body. It worked, normally.

* * *

Miku woke up with a start to find herself on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. The door opened, and Neru rushed in, her golden hair disheveled and golden eyes wide in shock.

"MIKU!" She ran in.

"I'm sorry." Miku got up, smoothing down the too-big shirt that Neru had given her. She wore a pair of shorts under it that Haku had been worried about lending to her. "I think I had a bad dream." That's what she said, at least. She didn't known what the dream had been about, but she remembered a face from it.

A girl with short blonde hair, with a white ribbon in it.

Who had she been? Why had Miku been so scared? She didn't know...

"What the hell was that? You were...screaming. Really loudly." Neru looked so worried. Too worried...she hadn't done anything bad.

"Was I? I'm sorry." She didn't know.

"Yeah. You woke me up...not sure about Haku. She's still asleep." Neru paused. "You don't need to apologize for anything."

"I don't." Miku tested out the words tentatively.

Neru sighed. "So. Haku's going to try to get you involved in my school, but for now, you'll be here."

"Will Haku do anything else?" Miku asked.

"She'll work." Neru walked over to her, sitting down on the couch. Miku sat down next to her quickly, not wanting to be left standing.

"What does she work at?" She hadn't seen much of Haku, but she wanted to know as much as possible.

"I think she's a waitress..." Neru sighed.

"What's a waitress?" Miku asked.

She saw Neru grit her teeth. Miku must have asked the wrong thing. "It's...someone who takes your order at a restaurant. A place where you buy food. They hear what you want, and tell the people who make food that," the blonde said quietly. "Why don't you know any of this stuff, anyway?"

Miku shrugged.

Neru sighed, and Miku noticed something.

It wasn't in their faces, but something in their demeanor...she was like the girl with the white bow. She felt...familiar.

She touched Neru's arm. "You look like someone in my dream."

Neru flinched. "Whoa, what?"

"I dreamed about someone. A girl who looked like you."

Neru shifted. "Uh. Thank you?"

Miku nodded. "You're welcome."

Neru sighed. "I shouldn't even be up at this hour." She turned. "I need coffee. Good thing Haku's brother has..." She walked forwards, into the kitchen.

Miku felt a wave of unease. She didn't want to be on her own. Neru knew more than her, and without Neru's knowledge, she'd be on her own, even in Neru's apartment. Miku followed Neru into the room.

Neru was pouring something into a mug.

"What's that?" Miku asked, pointing.

Neru turned, frowning. "Ah? It's...coffee. Drink of the gods. You'll like it. Probably."

"Okay." Miku nodded, watching Neru do a series of incomprehensible tasks. She had no idea what the blonde was doing, or how to do it, but it seemed too complicated for her to ever do.

Instead, she concentrated on Neru's face. Miku hadn't seen many people aside from Haku, Neru, and the half-glimpsed faces in her dreams, but Neru was very beautiful. Haku was pretty, but not as pretty as Neru.

"Hey! Miku, what are you thinking?" Neru turned to her, her amber eyes questioning.

"I'm thinking about how pretty you are." Miku said, startled.

Neru's face turned an interesting shade of red, and she dropped the mug of 'coffee' on her foot. "Awawawa...WHAT THE HELL?!" She pointed a shaky finger at Miku. "That's-That's-I-I-I-Don't you say that about me!"

"But...you are pretty." Miku tilted her head to one side in confusion. Did Neru not know? "Why are you so angry?"'

Neru took a deep breath. "I-I know. I just..." She sighed. "I guess I'm not good with compliments."

Miku stared at her feet. "I'm sorry."

"I said you don't need to-AAAAAAAAH!" Neru shook off the mug on her foot, hopping up and down. "That's _hot!_ How did I-"

"Won't Haku wake up?" Miku asked.

Neru paused. "Oh, shit. Miku, can you...I don't even..."

"I will help you clean up." Miku should try to make herself useful after inconveniencing Neru like this. "What should I use?"

* * *

The woman fixed the pins in the girl in front of her's hair. The girl sat there, still. "You look good, CV02."

"Do I?" The blonde girl frowned, raising a hand to her bangs.

"Don't worry. You will be able to make them think you're a human." The woman's mouth twisted into a sneer. "Even though, of course, you aren't. You're something much lower."

The girl showed no expression from this, her hands folded in her lap. "I understand."

"You just need to find CV01. Since you were so close to her, it should be easy." A flash of pain went across the girl's delicate features, but the woman ignored it. "Now. We have an idea of where she went, but you're going to need to move around. You're lucky we're blowing so much money on this, CV02."

The girl nodded. "Where do we start?"

"High schools. They're likely to mistake the girl as a human. So..."


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I'm glad this has so many fans, but how hard would it be for you guys to review?**

Miku followed Neru as the blonde walked down the street, the sun shining down on the two of them. The puddles from last night hadn't gone away yet, and Miku watched as the water splashed on her shoes after she stepped in one. She stomped her foot experimentally, and there was more splashing.

The blonde turned, and rubbed her forehead. "It's just puddles, Miku."

"Puddles." Miku said experimentally. She hadn't seen anything like these before. "Are they from...rain? Like yesterday?"

Neru frowned. "I can't believe you don't know that. What even..."

Miku sighed. "I don't know." She looked down at the dull green shoes Neru had lent her. "...they're getting wet."

"That normally happens when you put shoes near water." There was that tone in Neru's voice again-she only got it when Miku was doing something bad. She winced.

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be." Neru frowned. "Seriously, what the hell...oh, never mind. You don't want to tell me."

Miku shrugged. "I..." Neru didn't believe when she said she didn't know. But really, she didn't. She only caught glimpses of faces in her dreams-brown hair and blue hair and pink hair and most of all the girl with the blonde hair who was like Neru. She was jerked out of her thoughts by the blonde's low voice.

"Come on. We're going to school. Oh-right, you don't know what school is, do you?"

Miku nodded, though it rang a distant bell.

"Boy, are you in for a treat." The tone was there again.

"What is that?" Miku asked. She was just curious.

Neru shot her a glance, yellow eyes questioning. "What are you talking about?"

Miku gasped, but she tried not to apologize. "Th-That...weird voice you speak in. When you-"

"It's called sarcasm." Neru sighed, casting her eyes towards the azure sky. "It means...I'm not being sincere."

Miku frowned. "That sounds rude." Being rude was bad, right? That was what she thought, at least...

"Yeah, I'm not surprised."

Miku frowned. "Did you do it again?"

Neru nodded, a smile spreading across her face. "You're starting to get it, Miku."

"Then...were you actually surprised?" Miku asked.

Neru groaned. "We'll make a snarker out of you yet, Miku. Someday."

* * *

The girls arrived at the school. Miku followed Neru as the blonde walked inside.

"Akita-kun?" The woman behind the desk raised one manicured black eyebrow. "Who's your guest?"

Neru frowned. "Mew, she's...she's my cousin, Hatsune Miku. We didn't have time to fill out paperwork." The blonde took a deep breath. "I promise I'll be able to-"

"Bit weird." The black-haired woman sighed. "But, as long as you can get the forms filled out by a parent or guardian in the week, it will be okay. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am." Neru bowed.

"And get her a uniform." Mew said. "Soon."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Enough." Mew waved a pale hand. "Hatsune-kun, until you get the paperwork filled out, I won't be able to provide you with a schedule, so just go by Akita-kun's, all right?" She smiled.

The teal-haired girl nodded mutely. She shouldn't talk to people like that.

"You'll probably be late." Mew smiled.

Neru turned just so that Miku could see her, and rolled her eyes. Miku didn't know what to make of it, so she just followed Neru out of the room.

As Neru began to climb the stairs, Miku followed her. "What-"

"First period-math with Kasane-sensei. She's not that bad, for a teacher. Just annoying and childish. Come on."

"You seemed to not like Mew-san." Miku felt she should use respectful language to deal with the adults. "Why?"

"Mew-san is annoying. And it wasn't that I don't like her-I just don't like school. We're on this floor-follow me." Miku followed Neru into a room a bit down from the stairwell. She opened the door.

"Akita-kun!" The woman standing in the front of the room grinned and laughed, the strange drill-shaped pigtails on her head bouncing. "You're _late_! And who is this?" Her magenta eyes turned to Miku, who tried to hide herself behind Neru. "We already had one new student, we don't need another!"

"My cousin. Hatsune Miku. We weren't able to fill out the transfer forms yet, so she has my schedule," Neru said flatly. "Can I sit down now?"

"Uh-uh!" Teto giggled. "We have to introduce the other!"

"The other?" Miku whispered.

"Don't ask me." Neru whispered back. "I don't-"

"Can you please introduce _yourself_?" She gestured towards the back of the room, and a blonde girl who had been standing there stepped forwards, the white bow in her hair bouncing.

"My name is Kagamine Rin."

_screaming don't let me go this is for you i thought it would no no no_

_i'm sorry_

The world went black.

* * *

Neru fidgeted, twirling the strands of her ponytail around her fingers. That Kagamine girl had followed her and Miku to the office-saying that since it might have been her fault, she should see if Miku was okay.

She'd fainted. Right in front of the class, Miku had just passed out.

That was just enough to solidify Neru's distrust of Rin. There was something...weird about her.

Just as Neru's thoughts turned to her, the smaller girl cleared her throat. "Ah-Akita-san. Is-"

"You don't need to be so formal all the time." Neru sighed.

Kagamine's blue eyes seemed to change for a second, but then she was back to her previous neutral expression. "Does Hatsune-san have any health problems? Is she-"

"Ahem." The nurse-Kamui Gumi-had been silent for most of their discussion, checking on Miku. "For one-" she chuckled, "Kagamine-kun, that's my job. You don't need to worry about her health like that. Second, I don't think Hatsune has any health problems, except a small bump on her head from hitting the ground." The green-haired woman shrugged. "Maybe it was-."

There was a low groan from Miku, and Neru raced towards her, Rin right behind her. Miku's eyes opened.

"Wh-What happened?"

"Miku!" Neru said. "You-" Before she could finish, a higher-pitched voice had cut her out

"Hatsune-san!" Kagamine gasped. "You're awake! Does anything hurt? What made you pass out? Are you okay?"

Miku blinked. "...Kagamine-san, right? Nothing hurts-"

"Are you having difficulty breathing? Are you dizzy?" Gumi hadn't rushed like Neru and Kagamine, but she still was close to Miku.

"What do you mean?" Miku sat up. "I feel fine. I am having no difficulties."

Kagamine smiled. "I'm so glad." Neru frowned. What was her deal? Miku and her didn't know each other, right? There should be no reason Kagamine was so excited about her.

"Uh, Miku?" Neru cleared her throat. "Why did you faint, then?"

Miku stared into space for a moment. Oh, dammit-

"I think..."

Neru turned quickly towards Kagamine. "Kagamine, why don't you leave?"

The blonde frowned, her glossed pink lips pouting. "Why?"

"Family stuff." Neru shrugged, trying to seem calm. "Kinda private."

"Of course. I should move on." She walked away, but suddenly turned, putting her hand on Miku's. Looking at it, Neru noticed that she had an odd pallor, like she'd never seen the sun. "Hatsune-san, I'm very sorry. I hope we can make amends." Kagamine smiled sweetly, and walked out of the office.

Neru's eye twitched. That Kagamine-she was strange*. Too damn _nice_. There was no real person who was actually that nice. Ugh.

Gumi smiled, having kept silent until then. "Since it's private family business, I'll just need the email address of your guardian-but go back to class once you've finished talking!" She waggled a finger at them.

Neru sighed, rolled her golden eyes, and rattled off Haku's email. After Gumi had walked over to the computer across the room, Neru stared at Miku intently.

Miku remained silent, teal eyes staring into Neru's.

"You can tell me now." Neru said.

Miku sighed, and looked down at her feet.

"I think I...remembered something then. About before."

Neru's eyes widened. "_What?_"

*Just realized that they're reenacting Wonder Girl and Labyrinth Gate here. Oops.


End file.
